Clicking on the ads takes visitors straight to a story on the Web sites of those publications. People who click on the ad that reads "WSJ Says: Palin Lied," for instance, are directed to a story on The Wall Street Journal Web site about the contradictions in Gov. Palin's record regarding the "Bridge to Nowhere."

But none of the publications cited in the ads bought them — or even was aware of them. The buyer — though never identified anywhere on the ads or on the pages that you land on after clicking on them — is the liberal group MoveOn.org. It's the latest example of fuzziness about who's behind what when it comes to political ads online.

"We thought we'd seen the full gamut of creative ways people have found for calling attention to online content they want others to see," said Dave Tomlin, associate general counsel for the AP. "Buying an ad with a provocative teaser line and a link to an AP story is a new one."